style_bringer | You change when you get in that van.

You change when you get in that van.

[Fortuna was off-limits as far as vacations went. Aside from it being the source of some of Nero's worst memories, it was in utter disrepair, only accessible through small boats. London? Still intact, even aside from the catastrophes he and Lucina averted. There were plenty of boroughs that hadn't fallen prey to demons but he doubted small family parks wouldn't be interesting enough when it came to people that spent a great deal of their time in a breathtaking, gorgeous country-side and idyllic ivory castle.

Their introduction to his garage was anything but impressive, greeted by Nico who had thrown a demon's corpse on a tarp only to be caught hacking through it when everyone made their way through the portal. So, Lucina's family had been seated in various parts of the living room while Nero set about to making several pots of coffee. Coffee, breakfast, then plans for the day. That was what they agreed on.

Nico, washing her hands in the sink he used to wash vegetables, grinned at him cruelly as he set aside a lot of mugs and started ripping open packs of coffee grounds. He kept reminding himself that it was going to be one of the happiest days of his life just to know he had everything he needed to keep Ylisse and Earth connected on his own, guaranteeing he and Lucina would never lose one another that same way--but it fell short when Nico bumped his shoulder and chuckled to get him riled up.]

Good thing you got nothing but mugs instead of glassware like a normal fella.

Can it.

Pretty handy that you're gettin' paid in groceries too, huh?

Go to hell, Nico!

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Ah, that-- [Lucina smiles bashfully. she forgot he recorded that...and the bit where she launched him into the side of a building. so while that's playing she's quick to comment:] N-nobody was inside that part of the shop! We checked afterward, nobody got hurt...

[honestly, the novelty of being able to watch a past moment with such chaotic clarity (and none of the tactile mess) is more on her parents' minds than property damage.

"Sages can't even relay visions out of their crystals this clear," Chrom remarks.]

No, but...most people here can't use magic, so it's...something of a give-and-take.

[Every time he played it, she made the same face, and he'd always grin with pride. Thankfully, he hadn't record the aftermath, though given her following it would have probably been the most popular video he posted.

Nico, peeking over her plate, commented offhandedly: 'You sure got your phone out fast for that one.'

Chrom and Lucina had their little aside and Nero started moving to more videos of Lucina thrashing demons... pointedly skipping over the one where he was really going at the air guitar next to a stupefied monster with with a goat's head.]

Well, yeah, I was pretty busy with my own guy at first but I saw her somersault on the roof and just knew what she was gonna do, though, so I was in a real rush to record...

Oh, ignore that last one, I was just tuning one of Nico's new arms.

[the parents watch with interest, though their outward tells very. Chrom is more outwardly impressed by the technology itself, naturally charmed to see flashes of his daughter's happy, bashful expression when it's caught so candidly. Sully is more...well, she's looking a touch vexed the way she was when they first sat at table to figure out what the hell was even going on, back in Ylisse. there's a jealousy in seeing her in this way - absent of Sully's presence, like she so often was growing up - and it stings to think Lucina would rather be estranged than close-by anymore.

"So this is the kinda stuff you wanna do now...?" she mumbles aloud, her fork gently tapping on the cleaned-up plate before her. Lucina picks up on the pensiveness, her expression sobering a bit in light of it. she seems to retreat a little into herself, folding her hands under the table, and just quietly taking stock while Nero's still in show-and-tell mode.

there's things to be said about it, but she can't conjure up the proper words so quickly, though she's trying her best to string it together to speak to it.]

Yup.

[Out of habit, he let Lucina answer for him when it came to the authorities. There were times when a brusque attitude and over hostility weren't appreciated and her more level-headed temperament saved the both of them from having to throw hands with the same people they saved. They could both impress just about anyone but she knew how to wind everyone down. Gently, he laid down his phone and picked up his fork to jab into a hot cake.]

She's good at it too. Most devil hunters I've worked with just make messes and don't care about what those messes do to the people caught up in it. She tries to fix it every time. [Though he wouldn't speak a word of it to Lucina, he was resentful of Dante in many ways for not doing more to help Fortuna despite that irritation and hostility stemming side-by-side with his own regret of being weak. That resentment was tamped down in favor of giving Lucina her well-deserved praise the moment he sensed her retreating out of worry.

He was beyond confident in her and it showed in how firmly he laid the rest of it down--]

You both taught her how to be a hero and now she's lettin' everybody see the end results. Not too shabby, right?

[Nero takes the lead, leaving Lucina room to exhale...and quietly wonder at him with appreciation and love. usually, Nero's bragging about her embarrasses her and she hastens to quell it - it makes trying to carry on a conversation on even ground with strangers very difficult! but here, with her parents, whom she sees so far above her...this just helps her reach them a bit in a sense, doesn't it?

it's appreciated, Nero's adored...and Lucina has a chance to fit her own words into place in her head with less pressure to sputter out just on feeling alone. when there's a comfortable break after his remark, she nods a little, sitting up a little straighter.]

Before...I didn't have a say in the way my journey played out. War and calamity dictated my path. But, but that's not the case now. I always wanted to see Nero's world for myself, and...somehow, I can. And...I still want that. And thank goodness I have the skills to help the people here! They deserve the peace we fought so hard to get for Ylisse...

[Sully's expression remains rather unchanged, save for the way her eyes flit down to her plate in a display of contemplation. Chrom, though, smiles ruefully. Lucina recognizes the expression and feels compelled to press on:] I want to find my future this way, Father. Mother... [Sully glances back up at her prompting.] And...it's only easier to want, knowing I won't have to give either of you up to have it. And your trueborn daughter won't have to want for any of your attention.

[because whether they want to accept it or not, Lucina sees it as a sticking point. their timeline has their Lucina: she's nearing three years old, bears the same brand and color of hair, and...as she grows, the similarities will only grow...if Lucina stays.]

With the gateways between our worlds, I'll never be too far away...I'd never abandon you.

[He always liked paying her back for every word of encouragement she'd given him, finding she was all too smooth when she found the determination to stick something through.

It was a wonder that she ever needed help, as far as he was concerned, given how well she spoke. He knew orators were terribly dangerous people. Sanctus could encourage his followers through the worst means and to the worst ends but, put in front a crowd like that, he could see Lucina making anywhere she went better for it.

But, something in his heart squeezed when she mentioned her counterpart. Nero, touching his fingers to the handle of his mug, glancing to her when she brought it up--his smile falling just somewhat not because it made him feel particularly morose but because he didn't like to say certain things aloud. To Sully and Chrom, it might have needed a different atmosphere and one in which Nico wouldn't take mental note to abuse him with his own words later.]

I'll make sure Lucina's fine. I'm not clever but I'm tough and stubborn. I'll make sure she can visit whenever she wants.

[Nico cleared her throat.] ... With Nico's help, too.

[it's not their words alone, but the way in which they look to each other, strive to support each other while still trusting their own merits, that rings familiar to Chrom and Sully. one could easily bulldoze the other to assert their shared claims - they've each been known to do it in their earlier days together, feeling things out - but Lucina and Nero do not. it's like... well...

like they've known each other for a long time. understand each other. so despite the confusion that comes with Nero just seemingly coming out of nowhere from their perspectives, the proof is in the pudding, isn't it? pretending it's not at this point is just stubbornness.

"I believe you," Chrom assures, his smile gentle, one that turns a little sad when he looks to his daughter. "And if this is what your heart is telling you to do, I think you're right to do it."

"Better make that visiting a regular thing," Sully points out, still frowning, though there's a softness around her eyes. She doesn't like the very suggestion that Lucina may see herself as lesser, as excess baggage...and she's not a fan of having to share her with someone outside of her family. but this is part of growing up, isn't it? she had to do the same for her own family, to find her way to Chrom.

shoe's on the other foot. weird fit. but Sully isn't the sort to let that keep her from walking.

Lucina, for her part, looks heartened and relieved, shoulders rising with her breath. she nods, smiling over to Nero before focusing back on her parents.]

Naturally! There's so much I want to share - more than we can show you in one visit here!

[He couldn't help but notice when Chrom and Sully set their thoughts aside for their daughter. Whether she was one version or another, they were over-protective. It was a relief for him, knowing what she'd lost. Getting it back made helped her become whole in a way that he couldn't.

The way Chrom looked at her seemed right. Nero finished his eggs, knowing just at a glance that it was the way a father should have acted.

When Sully let a bit more of herself show, he thought she looked like a sap. Where'd she get off looking at him like he was cheesy!? He kept a lid on that complaint well enough, moving to his coffee while trying not to seem overly sappy himself the moment Lucina turned that smile back on him.

He was crushed in less than a heartbeat. Clearing his throat--]

I got something planned for this afternoon before dinner, so we gotta make sure to get to the mall quick. I think you guys are gonna like it.

What something did you plan, by the by?

[the question comes when Lucina joins Nero at his sink, bringing cleared plates to rinse; her parents are still at table with Nico, who is receiving some regard and curiosity for her tattoos.]

If it's at the mall, is it one of the clothing stores you had in mind?

[He'd been in the middle of humming some awful song among the many that he and Nico would listen to while they were working in the garage, occasionally handing Lucina a plate to move.]

Um? Plan...?

[After a moment, he seemed to wake up and remember.] Oh.

[Crap. She was, physically speaking, close to the answer. The little family photo center he was thinking of was only a few doors down from the last store they'd gone to together. He tried to keep that surprise off his face, playing it cool with... a pout.]

Lucy, you know it ain't fair to guess on surprises.

[she pouts right back; two can play this game!]

So I don't get to help at all? That's not fair, either, you know.

Hey, hey.

[Normally, he would be crushed under that pout. He wouldn't be able to withstand it even for a moment--]

It's a surprise for you too, okay? C'mon, I wanna be able to say I did one totally not weird thing for everybody.

Breakfast isn't weird. [she nudges him with an elbow, hands full of plates.] You're a fine host, give yourself some credit!

N-No, I mean... the portal thing? How I held it open? Holding open portals is weird, right...?

[He wasn't even sure where to begin with his insecurities when it came to her parents. Chrom and Sully were used to seeing magic but he wasn't. Maybe it was just weird that he called Sully 'mother in law' when he let her through?

He was starting to overthink things again, frowning deeply and emptying his half-drunk cup of coffee in the sink so he could wash it.]

[IGNORE ME ACCIDENTALLY HITTING SUBSCRIBE BECAUSE OF THE GODDAMN HOVER-OVER MENUS WHILE IM TRYING TO TAG AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA---]

You held it open very gallantly. [she's adamant about that, perhaps to a fault in her effort to reassure him.] As...gallantly as a portal can be held open? [squint.]

[Gallantly? He'd stopped his expert scrubbing for just a moment to turn halfway to her just to make sure she'd said that word intentionally with him in mind.

Gallant? Really?]

...Think I look gallant when I do air-guitar after hitting a max-act? [She'd done nothing at all to earn this teasing...]

A-- [she has to halt her forward momentum of positivity to actually think. what was the air guitar again?

well, it's something with arm-flapping, so she can just assume:] I think the word you use here is cool, right?

[The way he grinned wasn't at all teasing or mean-spirited but heavy with excitement. Lucina didn't have a knack for goofiness in the way he had since she had only digested wrestling and awful movies through his childish recollections of them (and because he'd never get away with dragging the mirror to the family TV) but she was endlessly charming when she made her attempts.

Every single time, she hit him with a 10/10. Passing her a plate, he whistled low.]

That's right. I'm cool.

Who's cool? It ain't you, loverboy.

[Without even breaking his smile--]

Shut the HEeee...ck up, Nico.

[Lucina stifles a little giggle, smiling over her shoulder at the folks at the table.]

...Very well. [she looks back up at Nero once she's done wiping down the dish.] I'll let it be a surprise, then.

[once dishes are clean and put away, she meets her parents at the table, cheerful.]

There's still a lot about this world that's new and surprising for me, but Nero's very good at finding the nice and fascinating things... I'm a little more excited now...!

[no pressure or anything, Nero.]

[Drying his hands with a cloth rather than his pants like the animal he usually was, Nero let Lucina head back with a smile in return before finding his phone to check the time.]

Alright, Nico, I'm on 'Do Not Disturb' except for your number.

Roger. I'll hold down the fort, for what it's worth... and take my babysitting fee in pudding.

[Knowing full well the place would smell like cigarettes once they got back--he put it on his mental list to grab a couple more air fresheners on the way back.]

Well, y'know, we're taking it easy for the first couple days. We'll be in time for the portal check but Nico can handle taking notes if anything comes in early.

[Pulling on his coat, he circled over to the side door and found his keys in the little clay bowl the kids in Fortuna made for him. It was shaped like a frog's mouth.]

Everybody ready? The van's gonna be a treat to get used to.

It's actually smoother to ride than a horse! [she takes up the rear behind her parents as everyone is filed out to where the van awaits.

All closed-in like a carriage, huh, Sully remarks, tilting her head at it.]

The roads're... smoother.

[A beat.] In places, I guess.

[With a wide swing of his arm, he'd pulled open the side door for Chrom and Sully with a sheepish smile. To anyone else in the world, his van was something of an embarrassing statement--that he was willing to live on the road if need be. Hopefully, neither of them would really piece together the context.]

You can sit just about anywhere. I'll be going pretty slow, but while we're moving you should pick the seats that face forward. Lucy, you got this? [He tapped the other passenger door.]

I just wanna do a quick oil check. [And take a moment to breathe again while she helped her parents get seated and situated.]

[it's a moment for Lucina to check in with her parents on her level, her own nerves rather high as she worries over their opinions of it all. she wants them to not just like Nero, but love him! and appreciate his hard work, and trust that the world is as marvelous and worth staying in and protecting as Ylisse, and--

Lucina. Chrom puts a hand on her shoulder, smiling. Why are you fretting?

Yeah, you think our heads are gonna pop off or something? Sully teases, crossing her leg once she's sat.]

Of...of course not. Forgive me, I only...I just hope you aren't overwhelmed...

[Sully tilts her head. You think this is more overwhelming than time traveling daughters or demon dragons?]

Right...

[A glance sent her way when he'd open the driver's side door gave him a little insight. A smile found its way on his face once again as, in a rare show of it, he felt just the slightest need to be a little forceful, though none of it was a matter of disrespect or pride.

So Lucina would feel just a bit better about convincing her parents that he knew what he was doing, he didn't mind sounding a little stern with the basics.]

We're safer than most people in this rig but it's still the law to put seatbelts on. [Though, really, he never wore one when he was working and there wasn't a single officer in those neighborhoods that would look in that van and feel the urge to ask any of them to put it on--Lucina, especially. They'd all seen her bisect a demon at that point, so it was a lost cause but... well, on a day out in town he preferred abiding by the rules a bit.]

Now... Remember how I warned you guys that music gets weird here? The stuff you heard on TV was just a preview.

[This was his idea of making Lucina's day easier.]

[belts are buckled rather dubiously, because it seems strange to them to strap themselves to the chair - what if demons appear and they have to jump into action swiftly? and even Lucina's a wee bit hesitant given...well. she and Nero didn't oft belt up either, but she trusts his judgment on this - he's the ringleader! his world, his rules.

once they're situated (how nice to have space specifically for swords in this vehicle!), Lucina climbs into the passenger seat and clicks in, smiling over at Nero with a ready nod, the smile twitching when Sully points out that there's no TV-box in here for sounds to come out of, so where would the music be?]

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don't worry i've called the police and told everyone

aaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaa

uu

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PSA: always wear a seatbelt

and maybe install airbags in the murdervan that can bunny hop off highway bridges